


Heartfelt Sentiments

by sparklight



Category: Transformers (Dreamwave Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romance, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-01-12 10:30:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1185217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklight/pseuds/sparklight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ficlets written for Valentine's Day, last year (never posted anywhere) and this year, and for the current year as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 2013 - Starscream and Jetfire

Right in the middle of battle, Starscream and Jetfire chasing each other with streaks of burning plasma that never _quite_ hit their targets, Jetfire shot up in the atmosphere, transforming as he went. With a growl, Starscream transformed as well as he tried to figure out how far up Jetfire had gone, and how much to move from his own position. It seemed quite obvious that _he_ was the target, so he just needed to---

The scream of jet engines and boosters blazing on full thruster wasn't enough of a warning, and yet he wasn't _hit_. The air burned like the plasma they'd been shooting at each other, that the mechs below were still slinging between each other as Jetfire passed right behind him, plating hot. He didn't have much more time than to twitch partly around, starting to initiate his transformation when Jetfire shot up again, right behind him, one arm about him in an embrace that _clearly_ was just to stop him from raising his arms and be able to shoot the glitch, the other came around his shoulders.

"Jetfire! What the blast are you _doing_ \---" Starscream's angry squawk was interrupted as Jetfire tilted his helm back, his finger large underneath Starscream's chin and Jetfire bent over him, their lips molding together. Metal still battle-hot between them, shifting and pinging with the heat and when Jetfire opened his mouth, Starscream decided to stop being _stunned_. Because it wasn't as if the overgrown idiot could _surprise him_ , not _really_ , and thrust his tongue out, stroking it with Jetfire's and forcing it back where it belonged.

A moment went by. 

A klik.

Nearly a _breem_ and there was lightning dancing in the insides of their mouths, static and friction caught between their tongues and Jetfire's hand stroking his cockpit in lazy, firm caresses when Starscream had stopped struggling.

::An _explanation_ , Jetfire.:: Starscream huffed over the comm. and all he got was a warm, dry chuckle tickling against his tongue and the soft metal of the inside of his mouth, and then Jetfire was suddenly shooting away again.

"YOU---"

::If I understand the human calendar correctly, you're supposed to give something to someone you care about today.::

Starscream sputtered and then huffed, transforming.

::You blithering drone, that's not how Valentine's Day works!::

Not that it hadn't been pleasant, however.


	2. 2013 - Mirage and Cliffjumper

"Here," Cliffjumper grunted as he shoved the box at Mirage, who had to quickly bring his hands up and close it about the box before the minibot let go, huffing softly as it had been shoved right into his midsection. If Cliffjumper had been taller, he'd probably have shoved it at his _chest_ , but that wasn't an option really. Or at all, unless Cliffjumper got up on a chair or something.

"What..." Trailing off at the burningly bright glare, Mirage actually took a look at what he'd gotten, realising that the box was transparent, and filled with... fog? More like some sort of gas, probably, the colours shifting with every twitch or tilt of the box. Then it thinned a bit, and the next vent-cycle got caught somewhere between the exvent and invent as Mirage's golden optics widened and flared.

That was...

Mirage opened his mouth, actually looked down at the minibot still standing in front of him, glaring at the floor, his arms folded tight against his chestplates. A simple verbal thank you wouldn't be enough. Wouldn't be _accepted_ before he'd gotten it out, not from this mech.

Cradling the delicate translucent box with it's rather impressively accurate crystal replication of a Towers building within, wreathed in the colour-changing gas, Mirage went down on his knees, gently put the box down beside him, extricated Cliffjumper's hands from the tight curl against his frame... And when Cliffjumper's helm shot up, optics slightly wide and already a step almost taken backwards, Mirage swiftly leaned forward and kissed him.

::Thank you.::


	3. 2014 - Starscream and Jetfire

The first time, it had been a joke.

The thing was, Starscream didn't expect a gift out of a sense of romance or as a sentiment of what they had - no, Starscream expected a gift because that's what you did for Moons' Kiss, and _he was worth one_. What added to the whole thing was that, of course, he was definitely worth more than a throwaway joke, and Jetfire didn't really feel like wasting credits or effort on something that had no use. That, then, always left him wandering around, trying to find something appropriate that wouldn't offend his own sense of practicality and the fact that there actually _was_ some emotion behind it, _and_ would satisfy Starscream.

It was a bigger order than it looked like, especially when Starscream preferred big, showy gestures (it was the principle of the thing), but actually _used_ the more practical gifts. Gifts like simple pieces of lab equipment that somehow always got lost or was never a bad thing to have too many of.

So, the first time when he spotted the shop nook out of the corner of his field of vision, Jetfire passed it without a thought. He came back the same way a cycle later, and this time actually stopped and _considered_ what he was looking at. 

Of course, the colourful, _fanciful_ frames were all cosmetic-only, or to manually adjust minor glitches in vision if somebody didn't have the funds to continually go and correct said glitches (soft glitches were annoying like that). None of them would really be of use to Starscream, because the ones he used were, beyond being set into his helm and usually folded away for both quick access and to keep them out of the way, for scientific purposes.

But, it gave him an idea.

With a soft grin that didn't often see use briefly sliding over his faceplate - and looked kind of silly on Jetfire's face, who really looked too serious for the mischievous look it gave him - Jetfire left the shopping district and aimed back home.

For a joke, the gift turned out a bit _expensive_ in the end. It also turned out to be _completely worth it_.

"Starscream?" He'd known Starscream was in the lab, of course. It was the right time of the day for it, with nothing else going on at the moment, but he _could_ have been elsewhere. Jetfire kept the smile that lurked right behind the surface of his lips hidden as he watched the white wings twitch and then still.

"What?" Starscream didn't look up, the tone this side of 'I'm busy'. It was a good charade, but Starscream tended to move while he was working, whether or not Jetfire was present and talking to him or not. Little twitches of his wings, shifts of his hips, digging a thruster down on the floor - and now he wasn't.

He was very, very still, in fact.

"I apologise for being late. It took longer than I... ah, _anticipated_. Here you go." Jetfire crossed the room while he spoke, and he hadn't even finished saying the last few words before Starscream was turning around, reaching out as Jetfire offered the package.

"Finally!"

He'd be offended if he didn't know better, and as such Jetfire just folded his arms over his chestplates as Starscream snatched his gift up. There was more care used in unfolding the layers of red and gold metal foil than one might think Starscream would stoop to using, but his grip on the package was light and his fingers slid with some delicacy over the foil. Nothing ripped as he nonetheless quickly freed the box, opened it up...

And stared.

His optics slowly narrowed into sharp edges, and Jetfire had to work _very hard_ on not laughing, despite the way it curled in his vocaliser. When Starscream finally looked up, his expression was caught somewhere between outraged and incredulous.

"What. Is this?" 

'This' being picked up between two fingers as if it was an acid or contaminated with organic matter. 'This' being a pair of glasses made in gold and string-diamonds, excessive loops and curls making up the frame.

"Research glasses. So you have an extra pair should you... ah, _lose_ your other ones." Jetfire had to take an extra invent as he spoke to avoid laughing, but Starscream caught it anyway and snorted violently. "They are fully functional, Starscream."

"I'm not sure if that's _worse_ or not! You're lucky you're... you're _you_!" Starscream snapped and levied the glasses in his hold like a weapon as he pointed at Jetfire. "I'm not sure you _deserve_ your gift now," he said with a sniff as he put the monstrosity of a scientific aid on the workbench beside him.

Jetfire, finally, smiled and shook his helm.

"I suppose I could survive that, if you _really_ feel---"

He didn't get to finish as Starscream yanked him down, and his grimace was swallowed behind a kiss that was as much intended to silence him as it was an actual appreciation.

::Be quiet, Jetfire. Three cycles, berth.::

And then Starscream stormed out, _conspicuously_ leaving the glasses where they were.

He'd expected _that_ , though, so he didn't really think more on that as he rather turned his thoughts to three cycles hence. 

In fact, he didn't think on it at all until half a year later, taking a quick break in the lab as Starscream came in, light sparkling off the looping curls decorating his faceplate. The energon he was drinking _almost_ ended up being sprayed everywhere, and glitched the intake valve at the back of his mouth a bit before he could swallow properly.

Starscream's smirk as he spent the next cycle in the lab without taking them off was worth it, and what had started as a joke ended up... well, it was still one, but it also consisted of trying to find a pair of glasses Starscream _wouldn't_ wear in the lab.

So far, he hadn't found any.


	4. 2014 - Mirage and Cliffjumper

At first, it had mattered only for a vanishingly small minority that they couldn't tell when Moons' Kiss happened from where they were stuck on Earth, but as the time passed and friendships and _bonds_ were forged, for those who cared, it became more of an annoyance. It wasn't as if Moons' Kiss could be calculated on a reliable schedule, and not _just_ because they'd been offline for four million years and currently were on an alien planet to boot.

It was also the fact that Moons' Kiss was a lunar phenomenon that happened irregularly, reliant on several different factors (the moons' pull on each other, the _suns_ ' pull on the moons, Cybertron's pull on the moons...) which, all in all, made it severely hard to calculate when Cybertron's two moons would pass vent-stutteringly close to each other.

Both of those, the unpredictability and the close passage, were reasons for why the holiday was set around that lunar phenomenon. Affection was unpredictable and sincere, and the varying amount of times the holiday happened during a vorn made it ideal, while the physical display exemplified the sentiment.

So, as the various couples and other groupings grew among the Earth-bound crew, the fact that they had no way of knowing if they would have the chance to express things as traditional through Moons' Kiss grated on some. In the end, five years after they first woke up and a year after Carly had given out the first Valentine with a joking grin, that day was settled upon as a passable compromise.

Not that Mirage felt it was in any way a proper _substitute_ for Moons' Kiss. The humans celebrated it each year and with a cynicism and bitterness by some that was distracting, and anyway, it wasn't _actually_ Moons' Kiss, so---

So that was why he was surprised when Cliffjumper basically pushed a small, delicate device at him. Well, that and the fact that he wouldn't have thought _Cliffjumper_ the type. And also because he wasn't sure _why_ the minibot had given him... What in Cyberton's name... a gimbal?

A joint gimbal too, and one that had clearly been in _use_ and... and it was too small for a standard joint. More like... minibot sized.

"Cliffjumper..?" Mirage stared, his hand having closed automatically around the delicate piece of frame component, fingers gently stroking over the outer ring of it. What did a _gimbal_ have to do with... Well, he assumed it _must_ have something to do with Moons' Kiss, but he was not aware of any practice that involved _giving people your components_.

Cliffjumper had his hands fisted at his sides, helm down as his field flickered fitfully, and Mirage could see the reflected flare from his optics. He shouldn't be amused, but he was. Amused and charmed, despite his confusion and, he could admit, some slight unease at the fact that he was holding a piece of component he could only assume came from Cliffjumper himself.

"It's... _you know_ ," Cliffjumper muttered, voice nearly growling as he relaxed enough to aimlessly gesture around. Mirage couldn't help the smile, but kept the chuckle to himself.

"I do know. But, I... ah. I have to admit I don't... understand why. A gimbal? Yours?"

Cliffjumper's nod with accompanying brief glance upwards at him confirmed that and despite the... _crude nature_ of the gift, it warmed him even if he didn't fully understand it.

"It's... uh. I _know_ we ain't both minibots but--- rrr." Floundering, Cliffjumper's engine was growling enough for the whole of him as he shifted on his feet, embarrassed and flustered over having to explain. Hopefully Mirage would manage to keep his vocaliser in neutral about the _barbaric nature_ of giving out frame components to people you cared about. This was awkward enough. "It's 'bout givin' up somethin' important that might also be of _use_."

"Cliffjumper, that's..." Pausing, Mirage turned the gimbal over in his hand, then shook his helm, baffled. "But medics have spare components, why would---"

"That _cost fraggin' extra_ , Mirage!" Cliffjumper suddenly exploded, throwing his arms up and finally looking up to _glare_. His optics were bright enough to nearly be white, and Mirage _almost_ opened his mouth again before he snapped it closed and his vocaliser clicked on empty.

Oh.

Oh, right. Yes, it did. Even when repairs were accessed easily enough, _spare components_ jacked up the price. Well, not in the war, but _before_.

Reaching out to catch Cliffjumper's chin, just to catch his attention, Mirage smiled when Cliffjumper looked up after a tense moment.

"Thank you, Cliffjumper." Carefully, he tucked the gimbal away into subspace for now, and then trailed a finger down the right front edge of Cliffjumper's helm that framed his faceplate. "Would you allow me to share what _I_ would like to do for you as a gift?"

Cliffjumper, having tilted his helm slightly into the minute caress, frowned up at him. It wasn't so much suspicious (or rather, not only) as _waiting_.

"... yeah? What'd that'd be?" He crossed his arms and Mirage kept from grinning at the sight. Flustered-defensive and trying _very hard_ to not be suspicious and just await the answer.

"You let me take care of you for the rest of the day."

With a grimace, Cliffjumper took a quick step away, revealing the slightly stiff movement of his left leg - apparently it was a hip gimbal instead of a less troublesome joint he'd gone for, _typical_ Cliffjumper... And also evidence of the sentiment behind the gift and Mirage's optics brightened a little, his expression growing all the more earnest as he held a hand out, palm up.

He hoped Cliffjumper would say yes, not just so he had a gift to give back - there _were_ other things he could give, but that wouldn't be the same - but also because he very much _wanted_ to do this. He might not have the wide array of services available to him that he would have had before the war, or the funds to spend on them, but the _time and effort_ would be the same.

And Cliffjumper was a stubborn, stubborn mini who didn't like to admit to needing help, or even less such an indulgence as being _taken care of_. Mirage, however, liked to do it, and if he could get to do it now...

Cliffjumper stared quietly for more than a klik, arms crossed over his chestplates again and biting his lower lip.

"... Fine." After almost two kliks of stance-shifting silence, Cliffjumper spoke up, his field fluttering at the muttered proclamation before stabilising. "But don't go _overboard_!"

Smiling, Mirage revelled into the surge of pleasure and affection that bubbled up as Cliffjumper, with a narrow, guarded stare that just made him want to haul his mini up and kiss him, took his hand.

He'd spoil his recalcitrant mini as much as he could on what was a military ship crashed on an alien planet. The occasion called for it, after all.


	5. 2015 - Starscream and Jetfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chase over Altihex isn't the WHOLE of Starscream's gift this Moons' Kiss, but it's probably the better one.

"Starscream..."

Stilling, Starscream didn't straighten up as the murmur vibrated against the metal of his helm and into his audio receptor, pretending not to notice the fact that Jetfire was standing _right_ behind him. Of course, then he had to be _patient_ as Jetfire's field twisted along his back and the larger jet shifted on his feet, the hand resting on the workbench at his side clutching fitfully at the table.

Sigh. Jetfire could work up the gumption needed to smoothly initiate, and then this usually happened...

"Come catch me," Jetfire said softly, a quiet rumble in his audios, and Starscream stared at the table as Jetfire stepped away.

Stared, partly because he hadn't expected Jetfire to manage to rescue that so easily and quickly as he had, and partly because of what he'd just _said_. Some tiny (huge) part of the Seeker was annoyed _he_ hadn't thought of this, to be used as Jetfire's gift for this Moons' Kiss, because that would only be _right_ to have Jetfire chase him...

The rest of him was already winding up, cables tight and energy rushing through his wiring and pooling in reserves, ready to be used, while certain programming that was usually inactive basically activating without so much as a by-your-leave, and Starscream whirled around to an empty lab.

Optics narrow, Starscream turned enough to be able to watch the windows, but couldn't see---

Ah, there he was.

Jetfire shot by and then swooped back in an offensively _slow_ twirling loop, and Starscream huffed. How _dare he_ linger?! Not that he'd ever admit to bursting out of the lab and running down the corridor for the nearest exit - he was just walking _fast_ \- pushing by the slow lumps of slag that took up space in the corridor.

Ignoring the angry yells behind him, Starscream barely left the building before he transformed and shot off the balcony, throwing his scanner range wide to catch Jetfire's signature. There was still a large part of him that was offended _he_ wasn't in Jetfire's place, but the rest was burning down into laser focus to achieve the goal and get the reward.

Because there better be his _usual_ present at the end as well, _besides_ whatever he was due for catching the giant weather vane...

Briefly, his scanners pinged a result, but it was quickly lost. Not that he _needed_ anything more and he basically flipped himself around standing still and tore off in the direction indicated, smug pleasure when he caught sight of Jetfire's distinct silhouette.

The larger jet shot off in a zig-zag pattern, his boosters firing intermittently, and Starscream swore. It wasn't that Jetfire was _faster_ than him, because baseline, he _wasn't_.

Not until the boosters came into play, anyway.

Shooting upward to cut the distance between them with height, he caught Jetfire just as the white and red jet shot up past him as he _descended_ , and they twirled around each other for a brief, suspended moment. 

Starscream was, however, unable to get close enough to tap any part of the glitch with his own frame, and couldn't corner him anywhere.

Huffing, Starscream parted his attention between their surroundings and Jetfire himself, shooting up high again to close the distance between them and then _dove_ , but only to barely missing to clip Jetfire's tail fins. The air guardian shot forward, angled slightly away from the direction Starscream had come down in.

He couldn't _smile_ like this, but that same smug pleasure welled up again, and he repeated the motion, though now _rising_ at an angle instead, coming at Jetfire from below.

He might not be faster than Jetfire as long as he had his boosters, but Jetfire, Starscream knew, lacked a few things that seemed to just come natural to Starscream. Which meant that even if he _noticed_ that they were slowly getting closer to the Altarian Spires and that Starscream was forcing him lower with each pass, he'd notice it _too late_.

Jetfire, after all, while he was surprisingly maneuverable and fast enough to put a thrill even in Starscream's circuits, chasing or being chased, did _not_ have a sense for strategic thinking in regards to a _target_. And Jetfire's brightly glowing thrusters, his white plating which was fairly glowing in the sun, was definitely a _target_ right now.

A very annoying, processing frustratingly dryly and yet delightfully clever target, but a target.

And Starscream wasn't going to let a _target_ get away. He'd found him, now he just needed to... catch him.

The spires, glittering rainbow and sparkling white in the sun from the bismuth and clear crystals inset in them, towered up towards the sky as Starscream looped around Jetfire, and Jetfire rolled on his axis before he suddenly darted sideways, _before_ Starscream had dived again.

He'd noticed.

Chuckling over their comm. line just to show he'd noticed, Starscream reveled in the glee now twirling through his wiring and EM field. Because it was _too late_. They were already among the spires and Starscream dove again, forcing Jetfire to go lower or be clipped, which would end the chase.

There was a quiet huff over the comm. as Jetfire suddenly ignited his boosters again and shot away between the spires, weaving between them with a speed and skill that would make _anybody_ 's spark flutter.

Not that _Starscream_ would admit to such as he mentally smirked and cut Jetfire off every time he tried to rise to gain more space to maneuver, forcing the air guardian to remain low... And slowly, through slight, twitching dives or cutting him clean off, into where the spires were broader, closer together.

And Jetfire, being that he was bigger, and they kept going _lower_...

Ended up having to transform when Starscream managed to cut him off from the larger opening he'd been aiming for and forced him towards two spires more closely together. Starscream cut his engines and transformed, partly falling _onto_ Jetfire and partly trapping him against the layered metal right as he tried to fly through the opening.

"So, where's my present?" optics narrow and hands on Jetfire's boosters where they stuck up above his shoulders, Starscream smirked.

"On your desk," Jetfire said, a small smile slowly creeping onto his faceplates as Starscream stared and then huffed, squeezing the boosters in his grip.

"Well, then I'll just have to get _this part_ of my gift _first_ , then," Starscream snapped and swooped in, barely pausing right above Jetfire's lips until a large, white hand settled at his hip. With a snort that muffled the quiet chuckle from Jetfire just as much as the kiss would, Starscream closed the shadow of a distance left between them and kissed his captured target.


	6. 2015 - Mirage and Cliffjumper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A friendly gesture... which Mirage doesn't actually LIKE and definitely still feels hurt about.
> 
> Complicated nobles.

He wasn't going to let it bother him. Not when he didn't _really_ care for the way the humans celebrated Valentine's, or the fact that the _Ark_ crew had, for expediency's sake, supplanted Moons' Kiss with Valentine's. So he _really_ wasn't going to let it bother him that Cliffjumper hadn't---

" _Bee_!" said mini squawked and whirled around, _barely_ missing to punch his friend as he skipped away, smirking and waving one hand. With a huff, Cliffjumper turned back and sat down, giving Beachcomber, who was quietly smiling, a glare while he rubbed his aft.

Hadn't done _that_. 

Neither last year when they first exchanged gifts, nor this year either.

Despite the fact that the rash of aft-smacking that spread through the _Ark_ around this time of the year - and, when they were still on Cybertron, around Moons' Kiss - was so very boorishly _crude_. Frowning, Mirage decided he didn't feel like drinking his energon on the rec. room and turned away from the seat he'd been aiming for, twitching his helm to Hound, who nodded.

He couldn't quite keep the corner of his left optic from twitching when he passed the twins and Tracks, who got bestowed a smack by each of them. Mirage certainly didn't miss Sideswipe's sideways glance and smirk in _his_ direction, and he sniffed and edged away slightly, just to make sure Sideswipe wouldn't get the idea to follow through on his implicit threat.

It was a positively _childish_ , the way they showed 'appreciation' for each other, beside the far more _civilised_ gift giving. What was even the _point_ \---

" _Hound_!" hissing, Mirage was glad he hadn't yet breached the cube and so didn't get any energon splashed on him when he whirled on the tracker, optics burning narrowly. Hound, as well as he _should_ , took half a step back, hands held up - though his small, far too affable smile took the edge off his apologetic and wary gesture.

"Merely trying to fit in," Hound said, an amused rumble in his voice and a placid but definitely mischievous glitter to his golden optics.

"I'll thank you to _not_ ," Mirage snapped back, well-aware he was edging in on 'unreasonable', but quite unable to help it, "this is an absolutely _wretched_ tradition, and I don't understan---"

"Calm _down_ , Mirage. It ain't anything more than something stupid between friends," Cliffjumper peered up at Mirage from behind Hound, then came around to stand beside them, half-drunk cube in one hand, "even if it's _annoying_ ," he finished with a huff and a scowl thrown down the corridor towards the rec. room.

That didn't make anything _better_ , because he _knew that_ , but he'd also seen couples do the very same thing and it was just... It was completely ridiculous that he'd feel hurt over such a thing like this. It was _beneath him_ and it was _crude_ and yet... He sniffed again, the tip of his nasal ridge twitching upwards.

"And yet you play along." 

Cliffjumper's optics narrowed at Mirage's tone, and then he glanced to Hound, who twitched his hands in what wasn't _quite_ a gesture at Mirage. Who knew he shouldn't be offended, and he _should_ just _talk_ with Cliffjumper. Especially as the minibot _really_ didn't like it when he went snippy and cold instead of _talking_ (given, Cliffjumper wasn't exactly stellar at talking about his feelings either, so they both had to work at it). For the moment, though, he couldn't quite manage that.

"... Yeah? Only the ones who _deserve it_ though. It's embarrassin' enough..." trailing off, Cliffjumper's vaguely annoyed and confused expression slid into a darker frown as he continued to look up at Mirage, while Hound rubbed a hand over his mouth, not _quite_ groaning.

" _I see_ \---" Mirage didn't get further than that, the icy little exhale of a hiss he'd expelled the words on subsumed under Cliffjumper's sudden growl as he grabbed Mirage's arm and pulled him into the nearest empty room, which was half-filled with supplies for the rec. room. Hound shook his helm and gave Cliffjumper a smile before they disappeared inside.

He should probably help, but really, they could and should do their talking without a _mediator_ , and he'd done his embarrassing thing for the day. Not that Mirage had appreciated it, coming from the wrong person as it had been. He'd just have to apologise with the more proper gift he'd had given his friend either way.

Shaking his helm, Hound went on his way and considered that despite their similar (former) class, there were still some pretty large differences between him and Mirage.

Meanwhile, in the storage room Hound had just left behind, Cliffjumper gave Mirage a good push - not that it did more than make the mech sway and his optics darken into affronted amber.

"Okay, that's fraggin' _enough_!" throwing his hands up in the air, Cliffjumper levied a finger at Mirage, "why're you acting like you've got all your blasted wiring twisted, huh? You always avoid people if you so much as _suspect_ they're gonna wave their hand even vaguely in the direction of your aft around today, and glare death at anyone who actually _tries_. You got all snippy at _Hound_ for Primus' sake, and now you're... what, upset I _ain't_ gonna..." trailing off, Cliffjumper waved his hand at Mirage to encompass the smacking he _wasn't_ going to do.

Straightening up, Mirage crossed his arms over his chestplates, optics narrow... and then let out a slow, quiet static sigh. He couldn't just expect Cliffjumper to pick up what he was... annoyed, about. Not the least because Cliffjumper did need things spelled out for him most of the time, and sometimes he didn't even pick up that Mirage was annoyed about something until and unless he got far too demonstrative about it.

"You _do_ do it for a few others, Cliffjumper... despite that you get flustered."

Even just _saying that_ had Cliffjumper's EM field suddenly twisting around him and his optics brightening, and Mirage smiled despite himself. It was just so _easy_... and Cliffjumper looked all too adorable like that, too.

"Fffnnn---" the noise that escaped Cliffjumper before he scrubbed his faceplate just teased Mirage's smile wider, "'cause I _know_ they won't mind it and if they're gonna be a pain in my aft I'm gonna give back just as good as I get, but I know _you don't_! I was pretty sure you wouldn't _want me_ to just... smack your aft. I was gonna give you your present later..." throwing his arms out, Cliffjumper shook his helm, anger running out into confused frustration.

He just didn't _get this slagging mech_!

Mirage stared down at the minibot quietly, and suddenly felt rather foolish. Enough so that he had to look away from those intensely blue and narrowed optics when Cliffjumper looked up at him, practically radiating exasperated confusion. After another moment, he let out a second static sigh.

"... I guess I... hm. I apologise, Cliffjumper. I suppose I assumed your occasional tendency to be _bothersome_ and aiming to rile me up meant you'd be taking _advantage_ of today rather than... be _considerate_ and _refrain_ ," the reluctant smile from earlier now wide and open, Mirage leaned down to brush his lips over a horn, earning himself a loud, rattling snort.

"I _can_ fragging be, ya know---" the finger against Cliffjumper's lips didn't muffle him, but it did stop him from working up into a rant, and he tilted his helm back to glower up at Mirage... and got his chin caught and a kiss instead. Huffing into it, Cliffjumper tilted his helm for another angle, not angry enough to yank away and yell at the idiot noble some more.

Mirage wasn't being _completely_ stupid, so he guessed he could---

" _Mirage_!"

Not that that's what came out since his mouth was firmly occupied and he couldn't decide between punching the nearest bit of white and blue metal or chase off the offending hand that had just pinched one bare hip joint. Not a slap, but in Mirage's case this was almost the same thing. In retaliation, and to make the glitch stop _smirking_ , Cliffjumper bit Mirage's lower lip, and none too gently.

He just got another pinch for his trouble before Mirage pulled back and straightened up with a soft little noise that on anyone else would've been a grunt.

"Have I forfeited my present?"

"No, but you do that again and ya sure as slag _have_ ," Cliffjumper said with a roll of his optics and a warning wave of a finger, and Mirage chuckled.

"Duly noted. Let's continue this somewhere that _isn't_ a storage closet, perhaps."

And he didn't smirk even a _little_ when Cliffjumper gave him a narrow stare and gestured him outside before the mini. Not at all.


End file.
